From law as a practice, to law as a business

Knowledge management

Knowledge
management is all about creating an organisational culture of
learning, knowing and sharing, driven by strategic and business-operation priorities, facilitated through the use of the right
processes and tools.

Among other things, knowledge management (KM) covers internal KM, how to position yourself as a knowledge expert, and how to market and sell your knowledge.

Knowledge
management assessment

A
knowledge management (KM) assessment is the ideal starting point to
kickstart or improve KM activities. Basically, it is an in-depth
analysis of your current state of KM in terms of content, processes,
technology and people. A typical assessment includes face-to-face
interviews, a legal technology quick scan and a content quality
check.

Knowledge management strategy

A knowledge management (KM) strategy defines the specific steps that need to be taken to implement a succesful KM initiative in line with your strategic business objectives. Together we will develop a bottom-up strategy to ensure that real needs and critical issues are tackled. Strategy development is ideally initiated by the results of an assessment complemented with input from senior management regarding strategic business objectives.

Knowledge management toolkit

There is an abundance of knowledge management (KM) tools and techniques: document and knowledge databases, online platforms, lessons learnt, knowledge portals,communities of practice, wikis, etc. Together we will define which tools and techniques fit best with your KM challenge. The right mix of tools and techniques is crucial to avoid one of the most common pitfalls: the technology pitfall. Knowledge is shared and reused by people following processes enhanced by systems, not the other way around.

Knowledge sharing culture

Creating the right culture is the most challenging part in implementing a successful knowledge management (KM) initiative. Discover how the implementation of an engaging content strategy and the introduction of KM incentives will embed KM in daily routines.

Knowledge
management is all about creating an organisational culture of
learning, knowing and sharing, driven by strategic and business-operation priorities, facilitated through the use of the right
processes and tools.

Among other things, knowledge management (KM) covers internal KM, how to position yourself as a knowledge expert, and how to market and sell your knowledge.

Knowledge
management assessment

A
knowledge management (KM) assessment is the ideal starting point to
kickstart or improve KM activities. Basically, it is an in-depth
analysis of your current state of KM in terms of content, processes,
technology and people. A typical assessment includes face-to-face
interviews, a legal technology quick scan and a content quality
check.

Knowledge management strategy

A knowledge management (KM) strategy defines the specific steps that need to be taken to implement a succesful KM initiative in line with your strategic business objectives. Together we will develop a bottom-up strategy to ensure that real needs and critical issues are tackled. Strategy development is ideally initiated by the results of an assessment complemented with input from senior management regarding strategic business objectives.

Knowledge management toolkit

There is an abundance of knowledge management (KM) tools and techniques: document and knowledge databases, online platforms, lessons learnt, knowledge portals,communities of practice, wikis, etc. Together we will define which tools and techniques fit best with your KM challenge. The right mix of tools and techniques is crucial to avoid one of the most common pitfalls: the technology pitfall. Knowledge is shared and reused by people following processes enhanced by systems, not the other way around.

Knowledge sharing culture

Creating the right culture is the most challenging part in implementing a successful knowledge management (KM) initiative. Discover how the implementation of an engaging content strategy and the introduction of KM incentives will embed KM in daily routines.

No idea how knowledge management can improve your law business?

Process improvement

Doing
the right things better results in a smarter, faster and more cost
effective delivery of legal services by increasing operational
efficiency and effectiveness.

Process
improvement

Understanding
how people work, why they do things the way they do, and identifying
inefficiencies offer great opportunities for improvement.
Methodologies such as Lean and Continuous Process Improvement offer a
structured approach to performing this analysis. The playing field of legal
process improvement is much bigger than the standardisation of high
volumes of work, transactional and litigation work. Every legal
service or business operation (HR, finance, practice development, training, ...) can be defined as a process and
thus optimised.

How does knowledge management fit in?

The right allocation of resources (including knowledge management (KM) resources and the introduction of KM tools such as templates, checklists, guidance notes and standard documents) is essential to improving processes. Documenting processes also ensures that the improved processes will be sustained.

Knowledge, marketing and business development: an integrated approach

Pitches, client seminars, newsletters, and even legal advice are rarely just about knowledge. They are also examples of effective client communication and often the result of business development efforts. Nevertheless, knowledge, marketing and business development professionals often operate in process silos which clearly undermine operational effectiveness. Discover how integrating processes will transform “legal knowledge” into “engaging legal content” that creates conversations with clients: the starting point of any strong and long-lasting client relationship.

Doing
the right things better results in a smarter, faster and more cost
effective delivery of legal services by increasing operational
efficiency and effectiveness.

Process
improvement

Understanding
how people work, why they do things the way they do, and identifying
inefficiencies offer great opportunities for improvement.
Methodologies such as Lean and Continuous Process Improvement offer a
structured approach to performing this analysis. The playing field of legal
process improvement is much bigger than the standardisation of high
volumes of work, transactional and litigation work. Every legal
service or business operation (HR, finance, practice development, training, ...) can be defined as a process and
thus optimised.

How does knowledge management fit in?

The right allocation of resources (including knowledge management (KM) resources and the introduction of KM tools such as templates, checklists, guidance notes and standard documents) is essential to improving processes. Documenting processes also ensures that the improved processes will be sustained.

Knowledge, marketing and business development: an integrated approach

Pitches, client seminars, newsletters, and even legal advice are rarely just about knowledge. They are also examples of effective client communication and often the result of business development efforts. Nevertheless, knowledge, marketing and business development professionals often operate in process silos which clearly undermine operational effectiveness. Discover how integrating processes will transform “legal knowledge” into “engaging legal content” that creates conversations with clients: the starting point of any strong and long-lasting client relationship.

2knowhow2 goes beyond the “traditional consultancy”. We also assist with implementation, and that is where we make the difference. Our mission is to excel at execution. Therefore, 2knowhow2 exclusively focuses on what we love the most and do the best: knowledge management and process improvement tailored to legal services.
Our clients entrust us with some of their most valuable assets: their knowledge and people. So whatever we do, we do everything to give them the best brand experience possible.

Our logo represents our core business, the way we work and what we value.

More efficient. More effective. More predictable.

2knowhow2 helps legal services providers optimise the use of their knowledge to deliver smarter services and products to internal and external clients.

2knowhow2 goes beyond the “traditional consultancy”. We also assist with implementation, and that is where we make the difference. Our mission is to excel at execution. Therefore, 2knowhow2 exclusively focuses on what we love the most and do the best: knowledge management and process improvement tailored to legal services.
Our clients entrust us with some of their most valuable assets: their knowledge and people. So whatever we do, we do everything to give them the best brand experience possible.

Our logo represents our core business, the way we work and what we value.

2. The first "2" in our logo refers to the personal contact with our clients, which we value very highly. We believe that face-to-face meetings build stronger relationships, create more trust and finally better work.

Knowhow. 2knowhow2 is obviously all about "to know how to" get the most out of legal knowledge, taking into account content, processes, technology and people. 2knowhow2 has the "know-how" to realize this.

2. The second "2" in our logo refers to our analytical way of working. Our analysis is based on facts and figures to the greatest possible extent. We believe in thoughtful, objective analysis followed by practical action.

About Dominique

Dominique Meert is an independent consultant operating under the business name "2knowhow2" since September 2016. In December 2016 she was named "Starter van de week" in Made in Mechelen.

To move ahead, one must often first look behind (David Garmin, 2000)I enjoyed many years working for great law firms and private companies, but under the guidance of my career coach, I discovered that ongoing personal and professional development in challenging environments is what really makes me happy. I love to design and implement new strategies, processes and tools, but once everything is running smoothly it is time to move on to new challenges.

During my law studies I worked as knowledge officer in the tax practice of Allen & Overy Belgium. I am proud to say that I learned from the best. In 2010 I became the first knowledge manager of the largest independent Belgian tax law firm. This gave me the opportunity to define and implement knowledge management from scratch. With about 10 years’ experience in legal knowledge management, I have worked as a knowledge officer and manager, and as a lawyer. Thanks to my combined academic background in applied economics and law, I think about knowledge management from a business point of view in terms of value added services for internal or external clients. Prior to becoming a consultant I also worked for two years as a marketing and business development manager. I carried out these different roles in Belgian independent full-service and boutique law firms, and also in a Tier 1 international law firm.

Besides this, I have also been actively involved in many side projects during my career. These projects related mainly to HR, legal technology and business operations. Although these projects were very diverse, they had one goal in common: to increase operational efficiency and effectiveness.

What this means to you: consultancy, training and support based on first hand experience in all types of law firms with different knowledge management maturity levels and different resources.

market positioning of lawyers as knowledge experts based on market and competitor research

law firm market analysis in preparation for a beauty contest

implementing a matrix to measure law firm performance

designing and implementing procedures and processes to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements

redesigning law firm websites based on data analysis

acting as a sounding board to take a "fresh look" at systems and practices

coaching knowledge professionals

creating conversations through workshops

Thank you for visiting my website! I am grateful for having the opportunity to start this adventure. I always look forward to receiving your feedback. It helps me to work smarter and to continuously improve my services.

You are writing off billable hours because people keep reinventing the wheel and are not taking advantage of existing experience and expertise

You suffer from information overload from an increasing variety of online and offline sources

You already have a document or knowledge database but sometimes neither documents nor people find their way to it

You want to avoid your exit meetings turning into “transfer of knowledge” meetings

You realise that offering the right knowledge support to your internal clients definitely gives a competitive advantage in the war for talent

You are a boutique spin-off of a top national or international law firm used to enjoying the support of knowledge management professionals, but the overhead cost of engaging someone on a full-time basis is prohibitive